


Battle for the Chance to Live: A-MAZE-ing Shenanigans

by jeremey, kittenprince



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 10:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20256304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeremey/pseuds/jeremey, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittenprince/pseuds/kittenprince
Summary: A circular dog and a cup of blue raspberry Slushie work together to get through a hedge maze rigged with some interesting traps.





	Battle for the Chance to Live: A-MAZE-ing Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> _Content warning for one (1) curse word._
> 
> If you’re stumbling upon this randomly, then congratulations! You probably have no idea what’s going on! 
> 
> This is a submission for a challenge in an RP group kittenprince and I are in. The RP group is an object-style camp (think Battle for Dream Island). The prompt, essentially, was to illustrate our characters finding their way through an ever-changing hedge maze.
> 
> My (jeremey’s) character is Jeremy Cup AKA J.C. AKA Blue Slushie. 
> 
> kittenprince’s character is Michael Pup AKA M.P. AKA Puppy Ball.
> 
> A non-AO3 user joins in the story later. Their name is Killz and their character is Funeral.

(drawn by Jeremy)

Holding hands, the pair of thin-limbed partners look up at the looming hedge.

Jeremy Cup is terrified (if they weren’t able to get through this maze, there’s a chance they’d be _ killed), _though he puts on a strong face for his new boyfriend, Michael Pup. Jeremy Cup gives Michael Pup’s paw a tight squeeze, and Michael Pup returns the gesture.

“A-are you scared?” Jeremy Cup hadn’t meant to stutter, though it seems to go unnoticed by Michael Pup.

“Uh, n-no?” Michael Pup has an unreadable expression on his face.

Jeremy Cup squeezes Michael Pup’s paw again. “Well… I guess we should start by getting through this, uh—” Jeremy Cup gestures vaguely in front of himself. “Hedge wall thing.” He pauses momentarily. “I was thinkin’, since, uhh…” Jeremy Cup slightly lifts Michael Pup’s paw. “Since you have paws. We could dig under the hedge? Maybe. It’s up to you.”

Michael Pup takes a moment to think. “Maybe, b-but I dunno how far I’d be able to go.” He looks to the ground. “I’m not that b-big, after all…”

Jeremy Cup lets go of Michael Pup’s paw and stares intensely into Michael Pup’s eyes. “I believe in you,” he tells him.

Michael Pup’s eyes see to have a gleam to them as his tail starts wagging. The corners of his mouth have quickly turned upward. Determined, Michael Pup starts digging at the ground near the hedge. His efforts turn out to be wasted as he quickly gets his paws tangled in bush roots. He tries to dig deeper, though due to his small size, he gets tired quickly. Now there’s an average-sized hole and a small pile of dirt next to the hedge.

(drawn by Jeremy)

Despite the lack of progress, Jeremy Cup pats Michael Pup on the back. “I’m proud of you for trying.” Jeremy Cup feels Michael Pup vibrate softly below his hand, though this only lasts for a few moments. Soon, Michael Pup is laying on the ground, and Jeremy cup goes to join him.

(drawn by Jeremy)

“Y’know,” Jeremy Cup starts. “Maybe we could just, like, cloud-gaze for a bit…”

(drawn by Jeremy)

"Don't we ha-have to do the ch-ch-ch-challenge?" Michael Pup replies. Though his words seem to disagree with Jeremy Cup’s suggestion, his rosy cheeks do not.

“Nnnnng…” Jeremy Cup groans. He can still feel the remnants of his recently-passed cold and was not excited to put effort into finishing the hedge maze. He curls up around Michael Pup, prompting Michael Pup to give him a little pat on the head.

"Maybe—just for a little bit—we could j-just relax,” Michael Pup says. “I mean, we have a w-wh-while…"

"I-I, I don't know. We'll be killed if we don't do this."

Michael Pup’s ears lean back just a little bit. “I-I forgot…” he mutters, almost too quiet for Jeremy Cup to hear. Michael Pup sits up from his previous position. "I really wish it wasn't like this, y'know…"

Jeremy Cup and Michael Pup sit together, feeling defeated. After what feels like an eternity (though actually only amounts in a handful of minutes), Jeremy Cup speaks up.

"Do you remember how you ended up in the mansion?” he asks.

"I dunno…" Michael Pup seems to be digging through his brain. "T-t-the only thing I r-remember is that most people were invited…"

"Yeah." Jeremy Cup stares at the hedge. "How are we supposed to get to the_ end _ of the maze when we can't even get _ in _it?" Perhaps if he were an angrier person (or in his case, cup), then he’d be fruitlessly kicking at the hedge. He stays seated on the ground.

Michael Pup thinks for a moment before offering a suggestion. "Maybe we're s-s-supposed to go_ through _it or somethin’…? Iunno…"

Jeremy Cup, considering the other’s idea, walks up to the hedge and sticks his left arm through it, though he pulls it out quickly. His arm now has small scratches on it.

"I don't think so," Jeremy Cup says dejectedly. He goes to sit back next to Michael Pup until he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. He turns his head towards the movement a second too late, only finding the hole Michael Pup made. Something seems to be missing, however, though he can’t imagine what it could be.

A small cooing noise comes out from behind Michael Pup. Michael Pup turns around, and his eyes go wide.

“H-hewwo?” A small figure with beady eyes stands (Sits? Squats? It didn’t exactly have legs.) in front of Michael Pup.

(drawn by Killz)

“Is that the pile of dirt you made?” Jeremy Cup asks quizzically.

The dirt pile giggles like a baby. Upon closer inspection, it seems to have a small clover sprouting out of the top of it.

“Me is Pile of Dirt?” the pile of dirt asks with a smile on its face.

“M-Michael? Does this mean we’re dads?” Jeremy Cup says, half-joking. Michael Pup seems to be in shock, though only for a second. His face quickly goes soft.

“H-hello, kiddo.” Michael Pup says in the kindest voice he can manage. He leans down to pat the dirt pile.

“Popa!” the pile of dirt coos. “Me Pile of Dirt!”

“I think his name is Pile of Dirt,” Jeremy Cup states. Pile of Dirt turns towards him.

“Moma?” Jeremy Cup coughs.

“I-uh, no—not quite. I, uh…” Jeremy Cup takes a moment to think. “I’m Dada.”

“Dada!” Pile of Dirt says excitedly.

Jeremy Cup goes close to Michael Pup’s ear. “T-this is really weird,” he whispers. Michael Pup softly pushes him away and gives him a little chuckle.

“Hey, Sprout.” Pile of Dirt’s eyes light up at the nickname Michael Pup gives him. “D-do you think you can help up get through this hedge maze?” Michael Pup motions in the direction of the hedge.

“M-Michael, he was _ just born. _How would he know how to—”

“Goo!” Jeremy Cup’s statement is cut off by Pile of Dirt’s giggles. “Me? Maze pro! Me made of maze dirt. Me can help Popa and Dada get through!”

“I, uh…” Jeremy Cup rubs the back of his head. “Okay.”

Michael Pup’s tail wags happily. “Tell us how to get in, Sprout!”

“Dig!” Pile of Dirt coos out.

Jeremy Cup has a look of confusion on his face. “M-Michael, we already tried digging—”

“I dig!” Pile of Dirt interrupts.

“Y-you?” Jeremy Cup replies. Pile of Dirt seems to nod. “B-but—”

Pile of Dirt rolls over to the hole Michael Pup made earlier and does a motion with his body that can only be described as drilling into the ground. Dirt flies into Jeremy Cup’s and MIchael Pup’s faces and Pile of Dirt drills deeper and deeper. Soon, a cooing can be heard from the other side of the hedge.

“I, uh, think he’s done, Michael.”

The tunnel Pile of Dirt made is wide enough for Jeremy Cup and Michael Pup to go through it side-by-side, and the pair does just that.

Strangely enough, on the other side of the hedge is what looks to be the beginning of a bouncy castle—one of the obstacle course bouncy castles. There are two entrances to the bouncy castle—one on the left and one on the right.

"Popa!" Pile of Dirt signals to Michael Pup. "Race Dada! Me meet you on other side. I go under!" With that, Pile of Dirt disappears into the ground, presumably going under the castle to get to the end.

Jeremy Cup sighs, brushing the remnants of dirt off of his cup and out of his slush hair. Michael Pup shakes off the dirt as if he was shaking off water.

“Hm!” Michael Pup mutters. “This doesn’t look too hard!” Michael Pup quickly pulls himself up into the bouncy castle, disappearing behind the right entrance. Jeremy Cup is soon to follow through the left entrance.

Jeremy Cup’s pulse quickens just a little bit as he realizes he can’t see Michael Pup anymore. “M-Michael??” he yells.

(drawn by Michael)

“I’m right over here, Jer! Don’t worry; this is fun!” Jeremy Cup can hear what he can only describe as bouncy noises through the inflatable wall if he listens close enough. He lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“That’s right,” Jeremy Cup mumbles to himself. “This is _ fun.” _Jeremy Cup gulps and goes forward.

The bouncy castle obstacle course is rather mundane as far as obstacles go, but Jeremy Cup can’t shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Soon, Jeremy Cup stumbles upon the end of the obstacle course: a small slide. He decides he has nothing to lose, so he closed his eyes and and slides down.

And he keeps sliding. He keeps sliding, and sliding, and sliding. Jeremy Cup is actually afraid to open his eyes at this point—the slide looked as if it would take roughly five seconds to reach the bottom of. He finally musters up the courage to open his eyes and finds himself sliding down into a dark pit. The ground he saw before he got on the slide must have been… Fake? Strange.

Either way, Jeremy Cup is absolutely terrified as he slides farther into the dark pit. He wants to scream, but his vocal chords fail. Where could Michael Pup be?

Eventually, Jeremy Cup reaches the end of the slide, hitting the hard ground with a thud. The area is lowly lit. Jeremy Cup doesn't see Michael Pup anywhere.

"M-Michael??" he shouts in a panic.

Jeremy Cup’s call was only met with a quiet scuttling instead of another voice. He shudders. Is he hearing things? Nonetheless, he stumbles around the pit, looking for a way out. Then, as if his presence disturbed something, came a small chatter, a bit louder than the scuttling Jeremy Cup heard earlier, as if he was getting closer to this thing. He figures it sounds like a bat.

Then, Jeremy Cup _ screams. _

The thing screams back.

_ “Heavens!” _ a voice says. “Can’t we ever sulk over us questioning ourselves in the dark alone?”

"Wh-wh-what? Hello? What?" Jeremy Cup rubs his eyes.

Out of the darkness emerges a vampy umbrella, who Jeremy Cup will soon learn to know as Funeral, in all of their glory. They’re donning a red cloak, probably to keep the sun off of them.

(drawn by Killz)

“We were busy monologuing in our head before you interrupted us,” the umbrella states pointedly.

Jeremy Cup mutters out a "s-sorry" as if on instinct.

“As you should be. How did you get to us anyway?” They move closer to Jeremy Cup with a curious expression.

"I, uh—" Jeremy Cup points at the huge bouncy slide that led him into the pit.

“Peculiar.” They rest their hand on their what would be their chin if they weren’t an umbrella. “We fell through a hole above.”

Jeremy Cup looks up, but when he doesn't see a hole, he looks back at the umbrella in front of him. "So, uh,” he starts. “Do you know how to get out?"

Funeral regains a confident composure and opens their mouth to speak, but after some quick rethinking they slouch. “…No.”

Jeremy Cup rubs the back of his neck. "Have you tried the elevator over there?" Jeremy Cup points to a spot behind the umbrella.

(drawn by Jeremy)

“The wh—“ The umbrella turns around. “…”

(drawn by Jeremy)

"Y-yeah. It's uh, kinda hard to see." The elevator was not hard to see at all. In fact, it was quite garrish in contrast to the rest of the pit.

“…We knew that.” The umbrella hurriedly walk toward the elevator while pulling their hoodie back up to hide their embarrassment

Jeremy Cup follows carefully after the umbrella. He takes some time to think to himself about the new acquaintance he made. There was something regal about the gothic umbrella. Something intimidating. He wouldn't want to get on the umbrella's bad side, that's for sure.

He has many questions he wants to ask the umbrella (Where did you come from? Are you living in the mansion, too? Do you have a large extended family full of many different kinds of umbrellas?) but he settles on the one he deems the most important:

"What's your name?"

The umbrella’s red eyes scan over over Jeremy Cup as if the umbrella was assessing whether or not the Slushie cup would be a threat. “We are funeral.”

Jeremy Cup puts his hand to his mouth in thought. "Who is 'we'?"

“A lot of people like to ask us this. We are funeral—one person, not multiple.”

Jeremy Cup wants to push the topic, but he instead decides to stay silent as he and Funeral reach the elevator. It opens on its own as if it was an automatic door.

Funeral was the first to enter the elevator, sitting down on the couch provided. Jeremy Cup, in awe of just how _ fancy _ this pit elevator is, sits directly across from Funeral. He attempts to make small talk.

“Fancy elevator, eh?”

“It very much appeals to us, yes.” Funeral lets their hood down again, and their umbrella cover unfolds. They fix the lace around its edges.

Jeremy Cup silently pushes the up button on the elevator wall. The ride up is quiet and the elevator soon reaches its destination: the hedge maze.

Funeral is the first to exit the elevator. The scan their surroundings cautiously for traps. Once Jeremy Cup exits the elevator, he immediately remembers that he needs to find Michael Pup.

"F-Funeral, if you see a round brown dog around, let me know."

“Ah. The tiny dog ball.”

"D-do you know him?"

“We do.” Funeral wanders off without elaborating.

Dumbfounded, Jeremy Cup goes to look behind the elevator.

"Oh—hey!" It’s a familiar voice.

Michael Pup has a shit-eating grin on his face.

Not expecting to find him so suddenly, Jeremy Cup yelps. This causes Funeral to scream. This, in turn, causes Michael Pup to cover his ears and let out a small whine.

"M-Michael?? Are you okay?" Jeremy Cup is quick to hold Michael Pup in his arms.

"Y-yeah… There was just a loud n-noise—" He notices Funeral staring him down nearby.

"So, uh, you know Funeral?" Jeremy Cup asks. He turns to look at the umbrella, but by then they seem to have vanished.

Michael Pup shifts in Jeremy Cup’s arms. "Oh, uh—I saw them in the kitchen once—never got their name, really…"

"Oh.” Jeremy Cup thinks for a moment. “I guess, uh, we need to finish the maze, then."

Before the two could advance though, there was then a rustling from a nearby hedge wall. Funeral emerged from it, having come out of hiding. “…You found the dog,” they say.

Michael Pup stuck his tongue out playfully at the mention as Jeremy Cup pats him on the head. The vampy umbrella slowly strides over to stand next to them.

"Uhh, yeah. So. Let's go." Jeremy Cup spoke, and set his dog orb companion down much to his dismay. Michael Pup found it comfortable in his arms.

Funeral had already begun to walk without them, so Jeremy Cup speed-walks to catch up. While he’s not paying attention, he hears a snap and feels a pinching at his foot. "H-heck! A mouse trap!" He shakes his foot until it falls off.

Funeral stops and turns over to look at Jeremy Cup as Jeremy Cup wipes at small tears forming in his eyes. Michael Pup runs over to Jeremy Cup and hugs his leg.

Funeral walks to the mouse trap, leaning down and picking it up. They hide it under their umbrella cover and continue walking.

Jeremy Cup blushes at Michael Pup (who’s still clinging onto his leg), then turns to Funeral, confused. "Uh, why-why are you—?"  
  
"A snack,” Funeral replies. “We continue onward."

A booming voice seems to come from nowhere, but our characters don’t seem to hear it. Perhaps the voice is talking directly to _ you? _

**Hello! I am Narrator Nathan, ** the voice says. **The writers are a bit burnt out and the deadline is drawing near, so I’m here to summarize the events that take place after where the story left off!  
**

**The second trap the trio finds is a row of swinging wrecking balls hovering over a narrow portion of the maze. Funeral finds this trap easy to overcome due to being able to simply roll under the wrecking balls. Jeremy Cup and Michael Pup have to be a bit more careful, but they both make it past the trap.**

**The third trap the trio finds is a small lake of lava with a lava-proof boat floating in it. The boat is clearly meant for two people, but everyone manages to squeeze in. The ride is a bit sweaty due to the heat coming from the lava, but overall the trio is able to guide the boat to the other side without hassle.**

**The fourth and final trap the trio finds is what seems to be countless pitfall seeds buried in the ground. This trap is both the least frightening and the most time consuming. About halfway through the pitfalls, Pile of Dirt makes a reappearance and helps by digging the remaining pitfalls up.**

**The exit is now within sight. Pile of Dirt bids the trio farewell and they continue forward.**

**And with that, the story draws to a close. Jeremy Cup, Michael Pup, and Funeral have all managed to make it to the end of the hedge maze alive.**

**This is Narrator Nathan, signing off!**

(drawn by Killz)

**Author's Note:**

> This story may be expanded upon in the future (both by writing out the summarized scenes and by adding more illustrations), but this is all we had the time and motivation to do up to this point. Thanks for reading!


End file.
